A warm meal can sometimes be the most comforting thing in the
world. But some hot meals, as good as they are, may also contain a
health hazard.

According to a new study, what you cook and the way you cook it
may have a long-range impact on your health as you age,
especially if you’re diabetic or vulnerable to heart or kidney
problems.

AGE happens

There’s nothing wrong with aging. In fact, many of us who have
been doing it for some time now are rather enjoying it.
Nevertheless, there IS something wrong with AGE; also known as
advanced glycation end products.

AGE is the result of a phenomenon known as the “browning
reaction.” Here’s how HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., described
it in the e-Alert “Prime Suspect” (4/6/04): “The browning reaction
occurs when certain carb molecules bind with proteins and cause
aging. It’s also called ‘glycation’, ‘glycosylation’, and sometimes the
Maillard reaction. It changes the structure of enzymes and other
proteins, resulting in tissue and organ damage (and it’s suspected in
organ damage particularly in diabetics).”

Unfortunately, AGE occurs all too easily when some foods are
cooked in certain ways. Researchers in the Division of
Experimental Diabetes and Aging at Mount Sinai School of
Medicine in New York City recently conducted a study to
determine the variations of AGE content of 250 common foods
when cooked by different methods.

The results in a nutshell:

* Fats tended to have a higher AGE content than carbohydrates
* The amount of AGE in all types of foods was related to cooking
temperature, length of cooking time and moisture content
* Broiling and frying created the highest levels of AGE (with the
least amount of moisture)
* Roasting and boiling created the least AGE (with greater
moisture).
* In general, lower cooking temps for longer periods of time
resulted in lower levels of AGE
* Cooked fruits and vegetables have very low AGE levels – but
those levels rise when they’re heavily processed

Box scores

The Mount Sinai research, as reported in a recent issue of the
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, makes it clear that a
few alterations in the ways that foods are prepared can make a big
difference when it comes to AGE content.

For instance, the daily AGE average in a typical U.S. diet is about
16,000 kilounits (KU), according to the Mount Sinai team. About
half of that average daily AGE intake is contained in a single slice
of pizza. So eating two or three slices of pizza is not the best meal
choice in terms of AGE.

Chicken broiled for 15 minutes contains five times the AGE of
chicken boiled for an hour (about 1,000 KU). A typical fast food
hamburger contains more than twice the AGE as a
burger pan-fried at home for at least six minutes (about 2,400 KU).
And 3.5 ounces of potato chips (which is barely enough to get
most people started) has a whopping 13 times more AGE than 3.5
ounces of baked potato (just 218 KU).

Slow & low

According to Dr. Spreen and the Mount Sinai researchers, people
with diabetes may risk damage to the kidneys and the heart when
AGE intake is high. But you don’t have to have diabetes to benefit
from a low AGE intake. For instance, one AGE study found that
subjects with low-AGE diets also had low levels of C-reactive
protein; the inflammation marker that’s associated with an
increased risk of heart disease. And a high intake of AGE is also
believed to play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Someone gave me a crock pot years ago that I confess I’ve never
used. Now I’m thinking Slow cooking? Low temperature? Lots
of moisture? It might be time to get that crock pot out of the attic
and put it to good use.

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and another thing
“I was so happy to see you say something about prolotherapy in
the newsletter. So few people know about it and it can benefit so
many.”

That comment comes from an HSI member named Kathy who sent
an e-mail in response to the 9/10/04 “This Week in the HSI
Forum,” in which I shared some of the experiences that other
members have had using prolotherapy; a treatment for damaged
tendons and ligaments.

In prolotherapy, a solution of simple compounds (usually dextrose
or calcium carbonate) is injected at the point of the injury,
triggering an inflammation response that increases the blood
supply and delivers vital nutrients to promote growth of new cells
and repair damaged connective tissue. I’ve used this treatment
myself to successfully address nagging pains that still linger from
four car accidents.

In her e-mail, Kathy goes on detail her experience:

“I had a fall on a wet floor eight years ago, which resulted in a
great deal of back and leg (sciatic) pain. I tried several doctors,
physical therapy, four different chiropractors, acupuncture and had
only minimal results until I read about prolotherapy. I read the
book “Prolo Your Pain Away” and was convinced it would help
me.

“I found a Doctor in my area who did the procedure and began my
road to recovery. I have had about 12 treatments and am about
90% better. I am now back to a normal life!

“My husband has had TMJ (temporomandibular joint syndrome)
problems the entire 39 years we have been married. He has had
mouth splints made by two different dentists. He decided to try the
prolotherapy for the TMJ joints. It took only one treatment and he
has had no further problems. We have sent several friends and
family members to our miracle doctor. We were lucky, our
insurance covered some of the cost. But getting rid of the pain was
worth what ever the cost was.”

I’m not familiar with the book Kathy mentioned, but it’s available
on amazon.com, and obviously Kathy found it to be useful. After
reading up on this therapy, if you want to locate a doctor near you
for consultation on prolotherapy, you can access a referral service
on the web site for the American College for Advancement in
Medicine (acam.org). And for more details about prolotherapy,
check the e-Alert “Crash Dummy” (4/2/03).

Prolotherapy doesn’t work for everyone, but for patients like Kathy
and me it’s been a welcome relief.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

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IS YOUR SKIN BEGINNING TO SHOW ITS AGE?